


the kissing booth

by kitanthony



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 21:56:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4803659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitanthony/pseuds/kitanthony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elias teaches high school history, Bruce is a dad, and Anthony gets stuck watching over someone else's booth at a school fundraising fair. It's all fun and games but someone's gotta get kissed eventually.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the kissing booth

That weekend, the high school where Elias taught was having a little fair on school grounds as a fundraising gig. All the profits from the fair went directly to the school. To keep the fair’s budget low, the teachers, parents and students all pitched in making games and flyers, setting up, and running booths and events. The main portion of the money the school spent was used to rent a ferris wheel.

Elias strolled through the crowd, past the standard tossing games and food stands, until he stopped at one booth that caught his attention. “A kissing booth?” he asked. “Really?”

The man at the booth, in all his slicked-back hair and leather-jacketed glory, leaned on the counter and smirked. “Every little bit counts, right?” He jostled the jar that was used to collect the money the booth made.

“Where’s your volunteer tag?” Elias asked. “Everyone working the fair is supposed to be wearing one.”

“This isn’t my stand, I’m just watching it for a few minutes.”

“I suppose that would explain why I don’t recognize you.” Elias came to stand directly across from the man. “Are you related to one of our students?”

“Not exactly. I have a friend whose kid goes here, Bruce Moran.”

“Oh right, his daughter is a freshman this year.” Elias nodded. “Is this her booth, then?”

“Her and a friend’s, yeah. Though she’s been begging for me to hang around so the booth can attract a bigger audience.”

“Not a bad idea,” Elias commented. “I know a lot of single parents who would have fun with a chance like that.”

“What about teachers?” the man asked slyly.

Elias smiled and held out his hand. “Carl Elias, I teach history.”

“Anthony Marconi,” the man said as he took the offered hand. “Private security.”

“Security?” Elias asked. “That’s interesting.”

“Not really, I mostly deal with shoplifters and vandals.” Anthony looked over Elias’ shoulder and nodded to someone. “Welcome back.”

Elias turned to see a teenage girl approaching and greeted her, “Ms. Moran.”

The girl smiled. “Hi, Mr. Elias.” She came to stand at Anthony’s side and leaned down to grab a purse sitting under the stand. “I’m not staying, sorry. Dad’s busy at the silent auction, but Keith and I wanted to throw some pies at Mr. Matthews so I need to grab a few bucks.”

“Well hold on, now.” Anthony stood up straight and turned to fully face the girl.

The new angle gave Elias a better look at the long scar that drew a line down from the corner of Anthony’s eye and curved towards his mouth. He took the chance to look over it curiously.

Anthony pulled out his wallet and offered the girl a ten dollar bill.

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that,” she said hesitantly.

“This is a fundraiser for your school. Besides, pie-ing your gym teacher in the face gets a lot less satisfying when you have to pay for it yourself.” Anthony winked. “Get him good, kid.”

She laughed and took the ten. “Thank you!” She hurried off, calling as she left, “Bye Mr. Elias!”

“Have fun,” Elias called back. He let out a breath. “You know, when I was her age one of my teachers got pied in the face too. Of course, the kid paid for the pie from a grocery store with his own money, and suspension from school.”

Anthony laughed. “That’s the best way to pie someone, in my opinion. It’s more fun.”

“Oh, I see.” Elias nodded. “I’ll be sure to keep an eye on you for any surprise pie attacks, then.”

“I’ll wait until you least expect it,” Anthony joked.

Elias smirked.

“Well, well,” a new voice called from behind Elias. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Carl.”

Elias made a displeased face before putting on a polite smile and turning to greet the approaching woman. “Hello, Joanna. How can I help you?”

“I wanted to come by and meet the new staff of the booth, maybe give a little back to the school.” The woman smiled at Anthony. “After all, it is for a good cause.”

The smile Elias wore turned cold and he remarked, “I don’t think you have enough money on you to purchase what’s on sale at this stand.”

Joanna shot Elias a dirty look out of the corner of her eyes. “I think you need to have your glasses updated, the sign clearly says $3.”

“Thanks to the economy, prices have changed,” Elias said. “They’re now tailored personally to each client.” He looked her up and down judgmentally. “Hm. Do you have any blank checks in your handbag?”

Joanna huffed. “You know, I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll wait until there’s less people lurking around the booth.” With that, she stormed off.

Elias watched her go before looking back at Anthony apologetically. “I’m afraid I drove off your only customer.”

Anthony shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss out on much.”

“Here.” Elias retrieved his wallet from his pocket and popped a five dollar bill in the booth’s jar. “To make up for my behavior just then. No kissing required.”

“Too bad.” Anthony smirked. “So what’s up with you and the lady? I mean you really didn’t look happy when she showed up. You exes or something?”

Elias frowned at the thought. “No, I’m just not fond of a lot of people, that’s all. I don’t get along with most of the other teachers. I find them tedious, and their conversations even more so.”

“You’re a bit of a loner, huh. Why become a teacher, then? If you’re so disinterested in other people?”

“The kids are great,” Elias corrected. “They’re innovative, ambitious, driven towards the things that interest them. More interested in living the way they want, rather than doing what they’re told is best for them. I can relate. It’s the staff here, worn down by the years and broken in by our faulty educational system. They’re the ones I can’t stand.”

Anthony nodded in understanding. “And where do I fit into all this?”

Elias tilted his head. “I’m not sure yet.”

Anthony broke into a grin. “Good.”

-

About half an hour later, Bruce Moran, his daughter and her friend, returned to the kissing booth to relieve Anthony of his duty. By that point, Elias had been dragged away by other staff members who wanted to show him something at the silent auction.

“Did you kiss anyone yet?” Bruce asked.

“No, did you?” Anthony shot back.

Bruce’s daughter looked confused. “What about Mr. Elias?”

Anthony shrugged. “He just wanted to talk, I guess.” He walked out from behind the counter. “I’m off to find something to eat. You coming, Brucie?”

“Sure,” Bruce said, following him. He turned back to his daughter. “Don’t get into any trouble, young lady. And if anyone gets handsy, let me know so Anthony can beat them up.”

She laughed. “Alright, dad. And hey!” She smiled at Anthony. “Thanks for watching the stand for me.”

Anthony smirked. “No problem. It was actually kinda fun.”

“Oh?” she asked. “Don’t suppose you want to take over again later?”

“I’ll think about it,” Anthony said.

“That’s a yes,” she decided. “I’ll have to thank Mr. Elias next time I see him.”

Anthony let out an amused breath and headed off towards the food stands.

Bruce followed next to him. “Nice to hear you made a new friend.”

“You trying to get rid of me, Brucie?” Anthony asked jokingly. He made for a line to a booth selling corn-dogs.

“Please. It’s far too late to get someone to take you off my hands. It’d be easier to put you in the ground instead.”

“Like you could take me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I wouldn’t do it myself. I’d hire a professional. It would be child’s play for them.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought about this a lot.”

“Only in theory. I haven’t put out an ad for a hitman yet or anything.”

Anthony laughed. “That’s nice of you.” He got a corn-dog for himself and his friend. As the two headed away from the food vendor, he asked, “How would you go about hiring someone like that anyway?”

“To kill someone? No idea. I don’t think there’s a section for them on Craigslist.”

“There isn’t, I checked.”

Bruce looked over at Anthony skeptically. “You know, you worry me sometimes.”

Anthony grinned. “Am I making you nervous?”

“Nah, if you wanted me dead, you would hardly need a trained assassin to do the job.” Bruce took a bite of corn-dog.

“Damn right.” Anthony looked down at his lunch. “You know, sometimes I wonder if that’s not a far cry from what I’d be doing for a living. If things were different, I mean.”

Bruce swallowed and looked over at his friend thoughtfully. “Well luckily, we didn’t find out.”

“Yeah.” Anthony stuck the corn-dog in his mouth to shut himself up.

They walked and ate in silence for a few minutes before Bruce piped up, “Hey there’s your new friend.”

Anthony spotted Elias at one of the game booths, where the player had to shoot foam bullets at targets and knock them over to win a prize.

Elias managed to hit more than half the targets, which earned him a pack of glow sticks.

Anthony walked up to him and nodded at his prize. “Groovy.”

“I’m sure one of my students will like these,” Elias said. “I don’t have any use for them.”

“What about the dog?” Anthony asked, gesturing to the large dog stuffed animals lined up at the back of the prize table in the booth.

“I’m not much of a dog person,” Elias said.

“Perfect.” Anthony paid the volunteer running the game, who he guessed was a student. He handed his lunch to Bruce and picked up the toy gun, taking aim. Ten shots fired, ten cardboard targets knocked down. He traded the game’s gun for one of the prize dogs and grinned at Elias. “Here you go.”

Elias gave him a sarcastic smile and took the stuffed animal. “Thanks.”

Anthony merely winked.

Elias raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t comment. He looked to Bruce instead and smiled. “Pleasure to see you again, Mr. Moran.”

Bruce, who had been watching in amusement, smiled back. “You too, Mr. E.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Elias continued, “I have to go find somewhere to put my new friend for the rest of the day…” He made his way around the pair.

“Just remember,” Anthony said, “if you leave him in your car, make sure to crack a window.” 

Elias smirked and walked off towards the school buildings.

Bruce shook his head. “Feels like we’re in high school all over again.”

“What?” Anthony asked in a huff. “You want one too?”

“No thanks,” Bruce said. “I don’t need a dog, I already have you.”

“Oh that’s cute. At least I don’t shed as much as you do.”

Bruce scoffed. “Come on, loverboy. Let’s check out the bake sale.” He led the way to the cafeteria building where the school staff’s homemade treats were spread out on the tables for purchase.

-

Towards the evening, Anthony found himself watching over the kissing booth alone again while Bruce, his daughter and her friend joined the large game of musical chairs being held in the courtyard by the gym. He was only there about ten minutes before Elias waltzed by again.

“You just missed your colleague,” Anthony called over to him. “Joanna, right?”

Elias’ gaze hardened and he returned to the booth. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have left you here alone.”

Anthony raised his eyebrows at him and chuckled. “You can relax, I was just joking. I haven’t gotten any action all day.”

Elias did relax, and even smiled. “Very funny.”

“I thought it was.” Anthony propped his elbow on the stand and put his chin in his hand. “How’s the dog?”

“Fine,” Elias said. “I rolled down the window like you said.”

“Good. Have you thought about names?”

“I was thinking about calling him Anthony.”

Anthony laughed. “Yeah I thought you might.” He nodded slowly. “We could do a joint custody thing: Junior stays with you a while, then spends some time with me, etc.”

“I didn’t realize this stuffed animal came with such a commitment,” Elias remarked. “I was under the impression it was a gift, some kind of attempt to win my favor.”

“But then what excuse would I have to see you again?” Anthony asked.

“I’m sure you could come up with something better than checking in on the stuffed dog,” Elias said. He spotted a couple of students acting suspicious nearby. “Excuse me.” Pausing to pull out a few dollars, he stuck the cash in the booth’s jar. “No need to break your streak while I’m gone.”

“You’re the boss,” Anthony said with a grin.

Elias smirked at the title and headed over to where the troublemakers were loitering.

Anthony watched as Elias spoke with the students, and the kids looked down in shame. A few minutes later the students nodded and headed back into the crowd, and Elias returned. Anthony gave him an impressed look and said, “Sure looks like they respect you around here.”

“I pride myself on being strict but fair,” Elias said. “And above all, honest. The students who know me tend to appreciate that. They know I’d rather not turn them in to another staff member, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let them go undisciplined. I’m just not fond of the principal’s eagerness to suspend students when there are much more effective ways to teach them right from wrong without it impeding their studies.”

“Suspension never did work when I was in high school,” Anthony agreed.

“Did you get in trouble often when you were a student?” Elias asked.

“Saw my fair share,” Anthony said. “No more than anyone else.” He smirked at the memories. “Bruce, on the other hand…”

Elias smiled. “Ah.”

“Speak of the devil,” Anthony commented, as Bruce and his daughter returned. “I was just talking about you, Brucie.”

“About how charismatic I am?” Bruce asked. “How I’m your idol and you couldn’t imagine life without me?”

“Something like that,” Anthony said. “Now that you’re back, I think I’ll head home for the night.”

“Thanks for coming out for this,” Bruce said, pulling his friend into a hug.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Anthony said. He broke the hug and clapped the girl’s shoulder. “See you soon, kid.”

“Bye,” she said. “And thanks again!”

Anthony nodded and turned to Elias. “Mind walking me to the parking lot? I wanna say goodbye to Junior, since I don’t know when I’ll see him again.”

Elias gave him an amused look. “Of course.” The two of them strolled through the fair, past the school buildings, and into the parking lot in silence. They stopped by Elias’ car so Anthony could see the stuffed animal sitting in the passenger’s seat. The window was, indeed, rolled down a couple of inches.

“I think he’ll be happier with you,” Anthony said. “Not even sure my place allows dogs.”

Elias chuckled. “I’ll take good care of him. I promise.”

“Thanks.” Anthony smiled over at him.

Elias stared back patiently, then after a moment declared, “Well? I’m waiting.”

Anthony raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“The offer expires in 5…4…”

“Shit.” Anthony leaned in and pressed a kiss to Elias’ lips.

Elias pulled Anthony closer and allowed himself to be pinned against his car.

Anthony broke the kiss and grinned. “Finally.”

“Took you long enough,” Elias commented.

“Me?” Anthony asked in disbelief. “I only offered once or twice.”

“You were working the stand, it was your job to offer.” Elias lifted a hand to hold the side of Anthony’s face. “Besides, it was worth the wait.”

Anthony leaned into the touch. “You’re a pretty odd guy.”

“So I’ve been told.” Elias’ thumb brushed over Anthony’s scar. “You’re a bit of a mystery yourself.”

“It’s always more fun to keep ‘em guessing.” Anthony let go to look at the phone in his hand, typing something on it.

Elias frowned. “That’s my phone.”

Anthony laughed. “Sorry. Sticky fingers.” He handed the phone back. “There’s my number.”

“Ah.” Elias retrieved his phone before holding up another in his other hand. “Then I suppose I should give you mine.”

“Well,” Anthony said with a grin plastered on his face, “aren’t you full of surprises.”

“I should hope so.” Elias entered his number before returning Anthony’s phone. “I’ll talk to you soon, Anthony.”

“Can’t wait, boss.” Anthony winked at him again before heading off towards his own car, eager to learn more about his new friend.

 


End file.
